Carlimits education and the road..?
Discussion
Been thinking about the Walshy Day thing. Now, I know it's all about the track and of course is not intended to enable, or even encourage tail out left foot braking through every corner on your way to Tescos, but I have been wondering whether things you have learnt on these days have helped you on the road..?
Please don't get me wrong, I'm not angling after developing chav-tastic car park tricks or anything like that with this post, not at all... but can any of you, from personal experience, definitely point to Walshy Days as being of direct benefit in 'everyday' situations or is it just a really good case of the more you know about it, the more you can understand it and therefore the more the car comes to you on that score?
>> Edited by Janitor on Sunday 19th February 19:31
Please don't get me wrong, I'm not angling after developing chav-tastic car park tricks or anything like that with this post, not at all... but can any of you, from personal experience, definitely point to Walshy Days as being of direct benefit in 'everyday' situations or is it just a really good case of the more you know about it, the more you can understand it and therefore the more the car comes to you on that score?
>> Edited by Janitor on Sunday 19th February 19:31
yes - 100% learning good car control helps you on the road.
You will learn things like how to brake and steer properly and how to control oversteer and understeer.
You wont learn it all in one day, but with practice it will build your confidence up in the car and your own abilities.
If its never happened to you before, then the 1st time the rear end lets go or you turn into a corner and you get understeer, you may not react properly = big bill time
If you practice control of the car, then when it happens on the road, you will instinctively react correctly and hopefully not prang it.
Nearly all the accidents you hear of with Elises are of owners 'losing the back end' etc on damp or wet days....all of these could be averted if the owner had had a few days training and lots of practice...once you are confident you can invoke the car to do whatever you want at will and stay in control..it will take a lot of training/practice to get there - but its well worth it in the long run.
Ive driven 70K miles so far in all weathers in high powered Elises and lost count of the number of times Ive 'had a moment' ...if I hadt have done a Walshy day shortly after getting the car, then continued to do them, + practice and track days then Im sure I would have been in a ditch by now!
Training is not something you do once then forget...you are supposed to practice, then do more training, then practice...then realise that you need to do this for the rest of your life to continue to improve........
You will learn things like how to brake and steer properly and how to control oversteer and understeer.
You wont learn it all in one day, but with practice it will build your confidence up in the car and your own abilities.
If its never happened to you before, then the 1st time the rear end lets go or you turn into a corner and you get understeer, you may not react properly = big bill time
If you practice control of the car, then when it happens on the road, you will instinctively react correctly and hopefully not prang it.
Nearly all the accidents you hear of with Elises are of owners 'losing the back end' etc on damp or wet days....all of these could be averted if the owner had had a few days training and lots of practice...once you are confident you can invoke the car to do whatever you want at will and stay in control..it will take a lot of training/practice to get there - but its well worth it in the long run.
Ive driven 70K miles so far in all weathers in high powered Elises and lost count of the number of times Ive 'had a moment' ...if I hadt have done a Walshy day shortly after getting the car, then continued to do them, + practice and track days then Im sure I would have been in a ditch by now!
Training is not something you do once then forget...you are supposed to practice, then do more training, then practice...then realise that you need to do this for the rest of your life to continue to improve........
Thanks for the input guys - and you do say pretty much what I would have expected / hoped to hear
Differentiation between the track and the road is important of course and I was probably trying to gauge whether or not the correct technique would only be of real benefit in improving your track performance, or whether it really would make that much of a contribution to the everyday scheme of things
'Knowledge is power' as they say... and 'knowledge of power' it would seem is also just as rewarding... and moreover, a basic essential
Differentiation between the track and the road is important of course and I was probably trying to gauge whether or not the correct technique would only be of real benefit in improving your track performance, or whether it really would make that much of a contribution to the everyday scheme of things
'Knowledge is power' as they say... and 'knowledge of power' it would seem is also just as rewarding... and moreover, a basic essential
Yeah, I totally agree Phil - no 'rudeness' detected 
I've never questioned the benefit of several Walshys, was just trying to relate that to the road when the big difference between the two mediums is always to be respected
Good stuff - and as I said, exactly the response I had hoped for
Cheers!
I've never questioned the benefit of several Walshys, was just trying to relate that to the road when the big difference between the two mediums is always to be respected
Good stuff - and as I said, exactly the response I had hoped for
Cheers!
I haven't done a Walshy day (my excuse is that I don't own a Lotus yet!), but have been racing for a few years, trained as an instructor and am familiar and happy driving most cars on the limit. I think this helps enormously on the road. Firstly, because balancing the car and driving it smoothly like you do on the limit, just at half the speed, means that you are much less likely to breach grip than if you just drove like everybody else. Secondly, if something does happen that puts you in an 'extreme' situation, you are far more likely to be able to deal with it safely. I'd reccomend training like this to anyone.
Amen to all that bogie and Rob have said above.
The one thing that Andy does really well, is that he helps you to understand why the car does what it does with any given input. The key, as bogie says, is to keep practising.
The activity days provide a great and affordable follow-up to the full training day where you can practise what you learned in a safe environment.
I'm much more confident in my car having done 2 sessions at North Weald, and I will be booking up some more soon. They are invaluable.
The one thing that Andy does really well, is that he helps you to understand why the car does what it does with any given input. The key, as bogie says, is to keep practising.
The activity days provide a great and affordable follow-up to the full training day where you can practise what you learned in a safe environment.
I'm much more confident in my car having done 2 sessions at North Weald, and I will be booking up some more soon. They are invaluable.
I saw a Lotus training DVD last year at a friend's house. Would that be Andy Walsh on that? I thought that the guy presenting the video had excellent theory knowledge, and put it across really well in an easy to understand manner. His demonstrations were top notch and overall I thought it was a brilliant DVD.
RobM77 said:
I saw a Lotus training DVD last year at a friend's house. Would that be Andy Walsh on that? I thought that the guy presenting the video had excellent theory knowledge, and put it across really well in an easy to understand manner. His demonstrations were top notch and overall I thought it was a brilliant DVD.
Yep, that's the one. It's short but gives you all the basics - an excellent revision tool and some quality ragging on the hooligan laps
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